Sæl Laurel!
 
Wow!  For someone "who is not quite at the translation stage yet" this is a very impressive translation!!!  And you´ve started to analyse the grammar!
 
Your translation was really very good, so anything I say here is really just nit-picking detail, but hopefully you will find it helpful...
 

1.  Síðan fór Bơðvarr leið sína til Hleiðargarðs.

Boðvarr = masc. name, subject    Yes.

leið=noun, fem. sing., nom. acc. or dat.=way, journey

        okay, ruling out nom. here and can't see why it would be dat., so acc.                  Yes

sína=pron., masc. refl.. gen.=his    nearly... sína is the feminine, accusative singular form of sinn and it agrees with the noun leið.

Hleiðargarðs=place name, masc. sing. gen. of Hleiðargarðr (with til=prep. w. gen.)           Yes

Afterwards - went - Boðvarr - way - his - to - Hleiðargarðr

Afterwards Boðvarr went (on) his way to Hleiðargarðr.

   or went on his journey?, or maybe, continued his journey?  I think the sentence you´ve got above is the most accurate, but depending on how far he had to travel to Hleiðargarðr, we would say "went on his journey" rather than "way" in English.  I think it is better to say "went" rather than "continued" because that might come from a different verb in O.N. (I´m not sure here... perhaps someone more knowledgeable can advise?)

-------------------------

2. Hann kømr til konungs atsetu. 

Hann=pron. masc. sing. nom.=he

konungs=noun, masc. sing. gen. of konungr=king's

atsetu=noun, fem. sing. (gen.?) of atseta=residence (with til=prep. w. gen.) 

He - came - to - king's - residence

He came to a king's residence.                  Yes.

-----------------

3a. Bơðvarr leiðir síðan hest sinn á stall hjá konungs hestum hinum beztum ok spyrr engan at,

Boðvarr (as above)

hest=noun, masc. sing. acc. of hestr=horse

sinn=pron. refl. masc. poss.=his        Yes, accusative agreeing with hest

stall=noun, masc. sing. dat.? (with á=prep. w. dat.)=stall  Actually it´s accusative because movement (into the stall) is implied.

konungs (as above)=king's

hestum=noun, masc. plur. dat. of hestr (with hjá=prep. w. dat.)=horses

hinum=pron. dat.=that     Yes, masculine plural dative form of "hinn" which Barnes also has as meaning "the other"

beztum=adj.=best

spyrr engan at=asks no one about it, asks leave of none (from Gordon's glossary under spyrja)      Yes, "spyrja at" is a phrasal verb (verb + preposition) meaning "to ask about".  Engan is the masculine accusative singular form of "engi" meaning "no-one".

Boðvarr - to lead (don't know tense here) "leiðir" is present tense- afterwards - horse - his - into - stall - beside - king's - horses - that - best - and - asks - none - (about it?)

Boðvarr then leads his horse into a stall beside (that) the king's other best horses and asks no one for permission,

------------------------

3b. gekk síðan inn í hơllina, ok var þar fátt manna.

[gekk, from ganga, no idea of tense again]    Past tense

inn í=into

hollina=noun + def. art., fem. sing. (dat. ?) (with í=prep. w. dat.)= the hall    Again, it´s accusative because motion is implied... you can tell by looking at the definite article ending on "holl"... if it was dative the ending would be

-inni.

fátt=noun of fár=a few                Yes

manna=noun, masc. plur. gen. of maðr= of men    Yes

he goes - afterwards - into - the hall - and - were - there - a few - of men

then he went  into the hall, and there were a few men there.    Yes

-----------------

4a. Hann sezk útarliga, ok sem hann hefir verit þar lítla hríð, hann (as above)

útarliga=far out (from Gordon: setjask ú.=sit near the door    "útar" is the comparative form of "út" so strictly speaking this should be "further out"

sem=when

hefir verit= (guessing) from hafa and vera? = had been?  Yes

þar=there

lítla=adj. fem. sing. acc.=little    Yes

hríð=fem. sing. acc.=while         Yes

he - sat himself - far out - and - when - he - (had been?) - there - little - while

He sat himself by the door, and when he had been there a little while,

    I don't know why this needs to be "by the door." (according to Gordon's glossary).  I would rather say something like "he sat himself at a distance (i.e. from the men)    Yes, I see what you mean, but according to our lecturer it makes sense if you know the layout of a medieval hall!  Apparently the fire ran up the centre of the hall with the top table furthest from the door, at right angles to the fire.  The courtiers sat on benches parallel to the fire.  The more important you were, the closer you sat to the top table (and therefore the furthest away from the draughty door!)

---------------

4b. heyrir hann þrausk nơkkut útar í hornit í einhverjum stað. 

heyrir=(guessing) to hear      Yes, "he hears"

þrausk=noun, neut. sing. acc.?= a rummaging    Yes

nokkut=as adv.?=somewhat      Pretty much so, "nokkut" is the accusative singular neuter form of "nokkurr".  It is agreeing with þrausk.  (Sorry, these 'o's should be hooked, don´t forget.)

útar=farther out          Yes

hornit=noun + def. art., neut. sing. acc. from horn=the corner (with í=prep. w. acc.)         Yes

einhverjum=adj. and pron., dat. from einhverr=a certain (with í=prep. w. dat.)              Yes

stað=noun, masc. sing. dat.?= place    Yes, agreeing with "einhverjum"

he - heard - a rummaging - somewhat - farther out - in - a corner - in - a certain - place

he heard a rummaging noise somewhat farther out in a certain place in a corner.    Close.  In the grammar analysis you had "nokkut" as an adjective agreeing with "þrausk".  So the English runs... he heard some noise (or some rummaging).  Then a literal translation would follow ...some noise further out in the corner in a certain (or some) place.  So perhaps a close English translation might be ...

he heard some noise further over in the corner somewhere.

What do you think?

-----------------

5a. Bơðvarr lítr þangat ok sér at mannshơnd kømr upp ór mikilli beinahrúgu,

Boðvarr (as above)

þangat=thither       Yes

mannshond=noun, fem.=a man's hand      Yes

mikilli=adj., fem. sing. dat.?    Yes, following on from the preposition "ór"

beinahrúgu=noun, fem. sing. dat? (with ór=prep. w. dat.)  Yes

Boðvarr - looked - thither - and - saw - (at=rel. that?) - a man's hand - was coming? - up - out of - large - heap of bones

Boðvarr looked over there and saw that a man's hand was coming up out of a large heap of bones.

    or refuse pile?, heap of garbage?  Following the O.N. I think we have to translate it as "a large heap of bones", but in reality I expect it was much more like a heap of garbage!!!

-------------

5b. er þar lá, hơndin var svơrt mjơk.

er=rel. = which?       Yes

lá= from liggja=to lie     Yes

hondin=noun + def. art., fem. sing.= the hand      Yes

svort=adj., from svartr=black       Yes, feminine form agreeing with the noun, hand.

mjok=adv.=much, very        Yes

which - there - lay - the hand - was - black - very

which lay there, the hand was very black.      Yes

Glad you enjoyed doing this.  It´s a bit like doing a jigsaw puzzle, isn´t it?!!

   

----- Original Message -----
From: Laurel Bradshaw
To: norse_course@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2003 9:05 PM
Subject: [norse_course] Boðvarr translation 1-8.

Thanks, Sarah.  I'm not quite at the translation stage yet.  I've only practised doing nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the Barnes.  So, I am picking out those items, seeing if I can identify the root or dictionary listing of the word, and then what part of speech, etc. it might be.  I'm guessing at the verbs.  So here is what I have so far:

1.  Síðan fór Bơðvarr leið sína til Hleiðargarðs.

Boðvarr = masc. name, subject

leið=noun, fem. sing., nom. acc. or dat.=way, journey

        okay, ruling out nom. here and can't see why it would be dat., so acc.

sína=pron., masc. refl.. gen.=his

Hleiðargarðs=place name, masc. sing. gen. of Hleiðargarðr (with til=prep. w. gen.)

Afterwards - went - Boðvarr - way - his - to - Hleiðargarðr

Afterwards Boðvarr went his (own) way to Hleiðargarðr.

    or went on his journey?, or maybe, continued his journey?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Hann kømr til konungs atsetu. 

Hann=pron. masc. sing. nom.=he

konungs=noun, masc. sing. gen. of konungr=king's

atsetu=noun, fem. sing. (gen.?) of atseta=residence (with til=prep. w. gen.) 

He - came - to - king's - residence

He came to a king's residence.

---------------------------------------------------------- 

3a. Bơðvarr leiðir síðan hest sinn á stall hjá konungs hestum hinum beztum ok spyrr engan at,

Boðvarr (as above)

hest=noun, masc. sing. acc. of hestr=horse

sinn=pron. refl. masc. poss.=his

stall=noun, masc. sing. dat.? (with á=prep. w. dat.)=stall

konungs (as above)=king's

hestum=noun, masc. plur. dat. of hestr (with hjá=prep. w. dat.)=horses

hinum=pron. dat.=that

beztu=adj.=best

spyrr engan at=asks no one about it, asks leave of none (from Gordon's glossary under spyrja)

Boðvarr - to lead (don't know tense here) - afterwards - horse - his - into - stall - beside - king's - horses - that - best - and - asks - none - (about it?)

Boðvarr then leads his horse into a stall beside that king's best horses and asks no one for permission,

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3b. gekk síðan inn í hơllina, ok var þar fátt manna.

[gekk, from ganga, no idea of tense again]

inn í=into

hollina=noun + def. art., fem. sing. (dat. ?) (with í=prep. w. dat.)= the hall

fátt=noun of fár=a few

manna=noun, masc. plur. gen. of maðr= of men

he goes - afterwards - into - the hall - and - were - there - a few - of men

then he went  into the hall, and there were a few men there.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

4a. Hann sezk útarliga, ok sem hann hefir verit þar lítla hríð, hann (as above)

útarliga=far out (from Gordon: setjask ú.=sit near the door

sem=when

hefir verit= (guessing) from hafa and vera? = had been?

þar=there

lítla=adj. fem. sing. acc.=little

hríð=fem. sing. acc.=while

he - sat himself - far out - and - when - he - (had been?) - there - little - while

He sat himself by the door, and when he had been there a little while,

    I don't know why this needs to be "by the door." (according to Gordon's glossary).  I would rather say something like "he sat himself at a distance (i.e. from the men)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

4b. heyrir hann þrausk nơkkut útar í hornit í einhverjum stað. 

heyrir=(guessing) to hear

þrausk=noun, neut. sing. acc.?= a rummaging

nokkut=as adv.?=somewhat

útar=farther out

hornit=noun + def. art., neut. sing. acc. from horn=the corner (with í=prep. w. acc.)

einhverjum=adj. and pron., dat. from einhverr=a certain (with í=prep. w. dat.)

stað=noun, masc. sing. dat.?= place

he - heard - a rummaging - somewhat - farther out - in - a corner - in - a certain - place

he heard a rummaging noise somewhat farther out in a certain place in a corner.

    or, in a particular corner?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5a. Bơðvarr lítr þangat ok sér at mannshơnd kømr upp ór mikilli beinahrúgu,

Boðvarr (as above)

þangat=thither

mannshond=noun, fem.=a man's hand

mikilli=adj., fem. sing. dat.?

beinahrúgu=noun, fem. sing. dat? (with ór=prep. w. dat.)

Boðvarr - looked - thither - and - saw - (at=rel. that?) - a man's hand - was coming? - up - out of - large - heap of bones

Boðvarr looked over there and saw that a man's hand was coming up out of a large heap of bones.

    or refuse pile?, heap of garbage?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5b. er þar lá, hơndin var svơrt mjơk.

er=rel. = which?

lá= from liggja=to lie

hondin=noun + def. art., fem. sing.= the hand

svort=adj., from svartr=black

mjok=adv.=much, very

which - there - lay - the hand - was - black - very

which lay there, the hand was very black.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To recap and rephrase into "normal" English (sorry this is so long...):

Then Boðvarr continued his journey to Hleiðargarðr.  He came to a king's residence.  Boðvarr then led his horse into a stall beside that king's best horses, asking no one for permission, then he went into the hall, where there were a few men.  He seated himself at a distance, and when he had been there a little while, he heard a rummaging noise somewhat more distant in a particular corner.  Boðvarr looked over there and saw that a man's hand was coming up out of a large heap of garbage (lit. bones) which lay there, the hand was very black.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was fun!  How did I do?

Laurel

.

 



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